NICOLE CHARBONNET – TAYLOE PIGGOTT GALLERY

NICOLE CHARBONNET TALES TRAILS TRACES

15 MAY — 28 JUNE 2015

NICOLE CHARBONNET TALES TRAILS TRACES

62 SOUTH GLENWOOD STREET JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING TEL 307 733 0555 TAYLOEPIGGOTTGALLERY.COM

Cowboy (blue), 2012-2013 Mixed Media on Canvas 48 x 60 inches 2

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Pattern no. 3, 2010-2015 Mixed Media on Canvas 60 x 60 inches 4

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Wolves, 2009-2012 Mixed Media on Canvas 60 x 72 inches 6

Cowboys (red), 2004-2012 Mixed Media on Canvas 60 x 72 inches 8

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Erased Riley, 2015 Mixed Media on Canvas 30 x 30 inches 10

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Study for Flower no. 3, 2010 Mixed Media on Canvas 40 x 30 inches 12

Study for Flower, 2010 Mixed Media on Canvas 40 x 30 inches 13

Cowboys (yellow), 2007-2012 Mixed Media on Canvas 66 x 96 inches 14

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Cowboys (pink), 2011-2013 Mixed Media on Canvas 36 x 60 inches 16

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Pattern no. 6, 2009-2015 Mixed Media on Canvas 60 x 48 inches 18

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The Fox, 2011-2015 Mixed Media on Canvas 48 x 60 inches 20

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Matisse’s Dog, 2010-2015 Mixed Media on Canvas 60 x 60 inches 22

TALES TRAILS TRACES 3

Cowboy (blue), 2012-2013 Mixed Media on Canvas 48 x 60 inches $13,000

12

Study for Flower no. 3, 2010 Mixed Media on Canvas 40 x 30 inches $8,000

21

The Fox, 2011-2015 Mixed Media on Canvas 48 x 60 inches $13,000

5

Pattern no. 3, 2010-2015 Mixed Media on Canvas 60 x 60 inches $17,000

13

Study for Flower, 2010 Mixed Media on Canvas 40 x 30 inches $8,000

22

Matisse’s Dog, 2010-2015 Mixed Media on Canvas 60 x 60 inches $17,000

7

Wolves, 2009-2012 Mixed Media on Canvas 60 x 72 inches $18,000

15

Cowboys (yellow), 2007-2012 Mixed Media on Canvas 66 x 96 inches $22,500

9

Cowboys (red), 2004-2012 Mixed Media on Canvas 60 x 72 inches $18,000

17

Cowboys (pink), 2011-2013 Mixed Media on Canvas 36 x 60 inches $12,000

11

Erased Riley, 2015 Mixed Media on Canvas 30 x 30 inches $7,500

19

Pattern no. 6, 2009-2015 Mixed Media on Canvas 60 x 48 inches $13,000

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NICOLE CHARBONNET As Faulkner said, “The past is not dead. In fact, it’s not even past.” Memory serves as both source and subject of Nicole Charbonnet’s work. She reflects, “We all see through the cloudy lens of our own thoughts, dreams and desires. Just as minds retain numerous layers of ideas, feelings and images, however vague or distorted, the resulting surfaces of my paintings retain a palimpsest memory of preexisting stages; some gestures and colors are obfuscated, while others remain visible, even if shaped by previous or subsequent events.”

The actual process is both additive and subtractive. Each painting, built up over time, is sanded, scraped, carved, repainted and modified in various ways, becoming a metaphor for the phenomena of recollection. Charbonnet’s field of vision resembles an archeological excavation. The superimposition of textures, images, words, and veils of fabric and paper create a visual threshold which is something to look at as well as look through.

Each painting thus becomes a materialization of the silent unfolding phenomenological experiences of perception, cognition and memory.

Consistent with this approach, Charbonnet appropriates images by other artists. Many of the images, whether from paintings, cartoons or films, have historical and archetypal associations. She often incorporates stereotypical images of America as a way of exploring our perception of ourselves as members of a society. She uses material from “our shared cultural memory” to not only evoke a sense of recognition and nostalgia but also inform current social and political situations. The process illuminates a past that is always present and encourages new connections and interpretations that function as starting points in themselves.

For this group of work “Tales, Trails, Traces,” Charbonnet has appropriated from artists such as Bridget Riley, Matisse, Ellsworth Kelly, and images from a variety of films and geometric patterns from wallpaper. Creating an architectural version of their work alludes to a process of creativity, psychological growth and relationships in general. A line that is an accidental or ancillary passage in a Matisse painting, becomes etched in layers of matter, made as permanent and intentional as a trait, mannerism or language one acquires from a family member, teacher, lover or friend.

Nicole Charbonnet was born in New Orleans. She received a B.A. from the University of Virginia, an M.F.A from Boston University and studied art at the Academie Goetz Paris, France, the Cleveland Institute of Fine Art, Lacoste and the New Orleans Academy of Fine Art. Her art is represented in galleries across the country and she has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants including the Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant, N.Y. 24

62 SOUTH GLENWOOD STREET JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING TEL 307 733 0555 TAYLOEPIGGOTTGALLERY.COM